Tactile Sensory Play Ideas For Toddlers and Preschoolers

The following article provides a list of tactile sensory play ideas for toddlers and preschoolers.

Sensory Bins

Materials: Rice, pasta, beans, water beads, or sand.
Activities: Hide small toys in the bin for children to find or provide scoops and containers for pouring and measuring.

Playdough Creations

Materials: Homemade or store-bought playdough, cookie cutters, rolling pins.
Activities: Encourage children to make different shapes, animals, or letters with the playdough.

Water Play

Materials: Buckets, cups, sponges, toy boats.
Activities: Let children pour, splash, and float toys in the water.

Texture Touch and Feel

Materials: A variety of textured items like fabric scraps, cotton balls, sandpaper.
Activities: Create a "touch and feel" board for children to explore different textures.

Painting with Unconventional Tools

Materials: Paint, cotton balls, sponges, toy cars.
Activities: Let children paint with these unconventional tools to create unique artworks.

Nature Exploration

Materials: Leaves, flowers, sticks, rocks.
Activities: Collect items from nature and let children explore their textures, smells, and colors. Create nature collages or make imprints in playdough.

Sensory Bottles

Materials: Clear plastic bottles, water, glitter, beads, oil.
Activities: Fill bottles with various materials and let children shake them to see how the contents move and mix.

Bubble Wrap Stomp

Materials: Bubble wrap.
Activities: Lay out bubble wrap for children to walk or crawl over, listening to the popping sounds.

Frozen Treasures

Materials: Small toys, water, ice cube trays.
Activities: Freeze small toys in ice cubes and let children melt the ice to find the treasures inside.

Sensory Bag Exploration

Materials: Ziplock bags, hair gel, small toys, glitter.
Activities: Fill the bags with hair gel, small toys, and glitter, then seal them tightly. Children can squish and move the items around in the bag.

Finger Painting

Materials: Non-toxic paint, large sheets of paper.
Activities: Let children use their fingers to paint and create colorful masterpieces.

Shaving Cream Play

Materials: Shaving cream, food coloring, trays or tables.
Activities: Spread shaving cream on a tray or table and add drops of food coloring. Children can mix the colors and draw pictures in the foam.

Nature Scavenger Hunt

Materials: List of natural items (leaves, rocks, flowers), collection bags.
Activities: Take children on a nature walk and have them find and collect items from the list. Discuss the textures, colors, and shapes of the items they find.

Sensory Balloons

Materials: Balloons, various fillers (rice, beans, flour).
Activities: Fill balloons with different materials and tie them tightly. Children can squeeze and feel the different textures inside the balloons.

Ice Excavation

Materials: Small toys, water, large container, ice, salt.
Activities: Freeze small toys in a large container of water to make a big ice block. Provide children with salt and tools to excavate the toys from the ice.

Mystery Sensory Box

Materials: Box with a hole cut in the side, various textured items (cotton balls, rough sponges, silky fabric).
Activities: Place different items in the box and let children reach in to feel and guess what the items are without looking.

Colored Pasta Play

Materials: Cooked pasta, food coloring.
Activities: Dye the pasta with different colors and let children explore the textures and colors. They can also use the pasta for threading onto strings or creating art.

Light Table Activities

Materials: Light table, translucent objects (colored blocks, beads, cups).
Activities: Use a light table to explore how light interacts with different objects. Create colorful patterns and designs.

Foam Sensory Play

Materials: Foam sheets, water, foam letters and numbers.
Activities: Let children play with foam sheets and shapes in a shallow tray of water. They can build, float, and explore the textures.

Oobleck Play

Materials: Cornstarch, water, food coloring (optional).
Activities: Mix cornstarch and water to create oobleck, a substance that acts like both a solid and a liquid. Let children explore its unique texture.

Moon Sand

Materials: Flour, baby oil.
Activities: Combine flour and baby oil to create moon sand. It’s moldable and soft, perfect for building and shaping.

Sticky Wall Art

Materials: Contact paper, various textured items (feathers, pom-poms, yarn).
Activities: Tape contact paper sticky side out on a wall. Provide children with textured items to stick onto the paper and create art.

Tactile Pathway

Materials: Various textured mats or materials (bubble wrap, carpet squares, foam mats).
Activities: Create a tactile pathway for children to walk or crawl over, feeling the different textures with their feet and hands.

Gelatin Dig

Materials: Gelatin, small toys, containers.
Activities: Set small toys in containers of gelatin and let it set. Children can dig through the gelatin to find the toys, experiencing the squishy texture.

Slime Play

Materials: Glue, baking soda, contact lens solution, food coloring.
Activities: Make slime with these ingredients and let children stretch, squish, and pull it.

Sensory Bags

Materials: Ziplock bags, hair gel, beads, glitter, small toys.
Activities: Fill bags with hair gel and other small items. Seal them tightly and let children squish and move the items around in the bag.

Kinetic Sand

Materials: Kinetic sand (store-bought or homemade).
Activities: Provide tools like molds, scoops, and rollers for children to create and explore with the sand.

Textured Playdough

Materials: Playdough, textured items (seashells, pine cones, textured rolling pins).
Activities: Let children press the textured items into the playdough to create patterns and explore different textures.

Dry Rice or Bean Sensory Bins

Materials: Dry rice, beans, small toys, scoops, containers.
Activities: Fill a bin with dry rice or beans and hide small toys inside. Provide scoops and containers for children to dig and find the toys.

Baking Soda and Vinegar Reactions

Materials: Baking soda, vinegar, food coloring, trays.
Activities: Sprinkle baking soda on a tray and add drops of vinegar with food coloring. Watch as it fizzes and bubbles, providing a fun tactile and visual experience.

Sensory Walk

Materials: Large containers, different materials (rice, beans, water, pebbles, shredded paper).
Activities: Fill containers with different materials and have children walk barefoot over them to experience various textures.

Gooey Spaghetti

Materials: Cooked spaghetti, food coloring, trays or bins.
Activities: Dye the cooked spaghetti with food coloring and let children explore the slippery, squishy texture.

Rock Painting

Materials: Smooth rocks, paint, brushes.
Activities: Provide children with smooth rocks and paint to create their own colorful designs. The smooth texture of the rocks combined with the paint provides a tactile experience.

Mud Play

Materials: Dirt, water, containers, scoops.
Activities: Create a mud kitchen where children can mix dirt and water to make mud pies and other creations.

Tactile Sensory Collage

Materials: Cardboard, various textured items (feathers, cotton balls, sandpaper, buttons).
Activities: Let children create a tactile collage by gluing different textured items onto cardboard.

Soap Foam Sensory Bin

Materials: Baby soap, water, large bin, hand mixer.
Activities: Use a hand mixer to create soap foam and fill a bin with it. Children can scoop, squish, and play with the foam.

Jelly Play

Materials: Jelly (gelatin), small toys.
Activities: Set small toys in jelly and let it set. Children can dig through the jelly to find the toys, experiencing the wobbly texture.

Bubble Wrap Painting

Materials: Bubble wrap, paint, paper.
Activities: Spread paint on bubble wrap and press paper onto it to create textured prints. Children can also pop the bubbles for extra fun.

Pom-Pom Sorting

Materials: Various sizes and colors of pom-poms, containers.
Activities: Provide children with different containers to sort pom-poms by size and color. They can also feel the soft texture of the pom-poms.

Flour Play

Materials: Flour, containers, scoops.
Activities: Fill a container with flour and provide scoops and containers for children to explore. They can enjoy the soft texture and practice pouring and measuring.

Scented Dough

Materials: Playdough, essential oils or food extracts.
Activities: Add a few drops of essential oils or food extracts to playdough for an extra sensory dimension. Let children explore the smells and textures.

Cotton Ball Painting

Materials: Cotton balls, clothespins, paint, paper.
Activities: Clip cotton balls with clothespins to create "paintbrushes." Let children dip them in paint and make textured prints on paper.

Cornmeal Sensory Bin

Materials: Cornmeal, small toys, scoops, containers.
Activities: Fill a bin with cornmeal and hide small toys inside. Provide scoops and containers for children to dig and find the toys.

Bubble Foam Play

Materials: Dish soap, water, hand mixer, large container.
Activities: Use a hand mixer to create bubble foam with dish soap and water. Fill a container with the foam and let children explore the fluffy texture.

Sticky Note Art

Materials: Sticky notes, paper.
Activities: Provide children with sticky notes to create art on paper. They can stick, peel, and reposition the notes to make different designs.

Colored Salt Art

Materials: Salt, food coloring, glue, paper.
Activities: Dye the salt with food coloring and let it dry. Children can use glue to create designs on paper and sprinkle the colored salt on top.

Pom-Pom Drop

Materials: Pom-poms, cardboard tubes, tape.
Activities: Tape cardboard tubes to a wall or large piece of cardboard and let children drop pom-poms through the tubes.

Sandpaper Art

Materials: Sandpaper, crayons.
Activities: Let children color on sandpaper with crayons, exploring the rough texture as they create art.

Threading Beads

Materials: Large beads, shoelaces or string.
Activities: Provide children with large beads and shoelaces to practice threading. This activity helps develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.